If Love Is What You Need, A Soldier I Will Be
by loveyoumeanitbye
Summary: The Glee Project: Rachel had no idea that in reuniting her new friend from NYADA to his love in the Army would force her to face her past love. Blake&Nellie, Finn
1. Chapter 1: The Mysterious Blake Jameson

**If Love Is What You Need, A Soldier I Will Be**

Credit goes to everyone on Tumblr, talking about how Nellie would make an awesome Army buddy for Finn. But fair warning, I am not too well inclined with the military procedures. I will try to stray away from specifics when dealing with Finn/Nellie's storyline. I tried to find stuff online, so I will base my facts from that but please don't be too harsh with me on that.

Also, I changed The Glee Project characters last names but I tried to incorporate their personalities through their characters.

This is for entertainment so I really hope you enjoy my fellow Blellie's and even the Finchel's who came on over!

Thanks and enjoy.

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Rachel gazed at the grand stage; her eyes gleamed with pure excitement. It was orientation at NYADA and she couldn't be more thrilled.

She waited in line with the rest of the students ready to receive her nametag and packet of required information.

She had been settled into her apartment for a couple of months now and everything seemed to be falling into place. Kurt decided to move to New York to study fashion at Parsons and Santana decided to start working and look for small acting and singing jobs. She already nailed a job at the small coffee shop down the street from their apartment.

Yes, Rachel Berry was living with THE Santana Lopez who made sure her high school years were difficult up until senior year.

At least Kurt was only a hallway down to ease any spats that were to come up sooner or later. As of right now they were living in a very quaint two bedroom apartment. Sure, it was the size of troll's shoebox but it would do until they made it to the big times.

"Next." Rachel heard her voice escape the woman sitting at the desk.

"Hello, my name is Rachel Berry and I am an incoming…"

"Last name?" The woman repeated sternly.

"Berry." Rachel said with a timid smile after being cutoff.

"Here." The woman said nonchalantly and called over the next person.

Rachel gulped nervously but recollected herself. She made her way to the front aisle and planted herself in the middle.

She turned to look at the other students, all bubbly and excited, ready to make an impressive first impression.

She looked around and everyone seemed to flock to other students. She wondered how they did that with such ease and charisma.

She sunk into her seat when Carmen Tibideaux took to the stage to present her welcome address to the class. Rachel admired her couture robe and matching headpiece. She had a commanding presence, one Rachel hoped to emulate during her time at NYADA.

Rachel listened intently to what Madam Tibideaux said she was looking for from her students. She wants them to find their special performer and cultivate their talents to shine to the brightest of stars they could become.

It was an inspirational speech that had Rachel proud to be one of the newest additions to NYADA.

After the speeches, the students were split into smaller groups to explore the campus. Rachel searched for the designated group she was assigned to and found three other students.

"Hi, is this group…Whitney?" Rachel giggled as she read her card again.

One of the boys nodded, "Yeah, just be glad we weren't placed in group Kiss. Hi, I'm Blake!" Rachel smiled genuinely; meeting a friendly face was always nice, especially in her place of discomfort.

"Hi, I'm Rachel Berry." He was tall, blonde, and undeniably handsome but Rachel wasn't looking for love. Nope, her main goal was to become a star.

"Aren't you just the cutest thing? Hi, I'm Shanna Henry from Alabama." The southern bell stated in her adorable accent. She was another blonde beauty, Rachel immediately thought of her friend Quinn. Except Shanna had these bright, big, azure eyes that would hypnotize you along with her pearly white smile.

The last guy turned toward her, a goof ball nonetheless. He picked up her hand and kissed it, "Hi I'm Charlie from Chicago. It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance." She couldn't stop staring at him, he held a canny resemblance to…

"Great Charlie, you froze her with your crazy stare!" Shanna smacked him on the arm and she shook her arm, "You okay sweetie?" Shanna's question made her nod enthusiastically.

"Peachy, sorry. You just remind me of a friend from home." The three students could tell there was more to it, but they decided to ask her about it later.

"Come on, I think it's time for the tour!" Blake pulled them along and soon Rachel Berry was back to her normal self.

After the tour was over, Shanna invited Rachel to hang out at her dorm. She and her roommate, Ali were throwing a little get together.

Ali Stevens was a cute blonde from New York; she wanted to experience the real college lifestyle so she opted for the dorms. Like Artie, she was paralyzed when she was younger from a really bad car accident.

Rachel could see that it didn't stop the New Yorker from getting what she wanted. She wholeheartedly respected her.

At the get together she learned that Charlie and Blake were roommates who lived next to Shanna, which explained their budding friendship.

"So Berry, may I ask you a serious question?" Rachel wasn't one to turn down questions; she learned that if she wanted to make it in showbiz she had to be ready for anything.

"You may proceed Charlie." She giggled taking a sip of a wine cooler that Shanna had handed to her.

"Alright, you said I resembled a friend of yours. Did you have a crush on him?" Charlie took a swig of his beer and awaited her answer.

She let out a soft breath but nodded her head with a small smile, "Yeah, you can say that we were pretty serious."

"What happened?" Shanna asked wanting to know the details. Rachel Berry seemed so glamorous to her, with her little outfits and polished personality. I guess she was already a fan of her friend.

"Well…he was the love of my life…guys it's a really LONG story." Rachel stated with an emphasis on long.

"I've got time and we got plenty of booze!" Ali pulled up the full pack of wine coolers with her free hand, causing Rachel to giggle.

She started to talk about Finn and New Directions. Her story was utterly captivating. Shanna and Ali definitely cried when she talked about her on again, off again relationship. The ending had them in full blown sobs.

"That was freaking intense!" Charlie sighed; he came to the realization that he really had no chance with Rachel. It seemed her heart belonged to someone else.

"Okay enough about me…someone else please?" She looked over at Blake, who had been staring at his phone and quiet most of the night. "How about you Blake? Any lost love?"

He chuckled to himself, "Definitely not lost, but I got someone special pretty far away right now."

"Are you finally going to tell me about this mystery girl, dude?" Charlie placed an arm around his friend but he shook his head.

"No chance, I mean not yet." Blake Jameson was a mystery but Rachel was willing to wait for him to open up.

The get together ended and soon Rachel found herself being walked home by the mystery man himself.

"Thanks for accompanying me back home Blake, but really it's just down the street." The two chuckled as Rachel reached down for the keys in her pocket. She watched as Blake fell into a deep concentration as he stared at his cell phone.

"You love this girl." She said in a matter of fact manner.

He bobbed his head with a soft smile, "I do, probably just as much as you love Finn." She found her keys but looked up at him with a stern look.

"Probably." She chuckled and placed the key in the slot, "Thanks again Blake." He nodded his head in assurance and turned to walk away.

Rachel sauntered into her apartment; she was on her way to her room when she was halted by her two roommates.

"Rachel Barbara Berry, it is one in the morning, where the hell were you?" Santana started to yell at her in Spanish while Kurt stared at his lunatic roommate in fear.

"I was at the dorm of a friend from school." She stated calmly, "And I used the buddy system, my friend, Blake walked me home."

Kurt stepped forward and followed her to her room, "Was he gorgeous? Can he sing? Of course he can, where is he from?"

"Does he have a hot sister I can stare at?" Santana followed the pair. She was still extremely loyal to Brittany but she was allowed to have some sort of eye candy.

The two badgered her for details and made her promise to bring them along for the next soiree.

The next day was Friday, the beginning to Rachel's free weekend before her first week of school. It was terribly hot, so she opted for a pink tank top and a flowing layered mini skirt. She put on some ballet flats and put her brown locks in a high bun.

Kurt came out in some white boat shorts and a casual blue and red tank top from Polo Ralph Lauren.

Santana wore a short red cropped tank top a pair of black booty shorts and sandals. She put her hair in a high ponytail but was still dying.

"This is torturous! Can we please have some fun, cold included?" She fanned herself with a flyer on the table.

Rachel heard her phone beep and looked down, "Hey you guys want to go to my friend's house for a barbeque, it has a pool?" When she looked up her roommates were already rushing to gather their belongings for a day at the pool.

Charlie pulled up in his gas guzzler of a vehicle, the air conditioner was running high and Shanna and Ali were already waiting in the back. Blake jumped out of the passenger's seat to give them a hand.

"Hi, I'm Blake!" Blake dazzled Santana and Kurt with his perfect smile.

"God, you're gorgeous!" Santana stated and introduced herself, "Skipper boy is Kurt." She pointed to Kurt who looked like he was about to go yachting.

"You're adorable!" Ali waved from her spot in the car.

Shanna pinched his cheek, "I can just eat you up!"

"Dude has more game than me, Kurt can I borrow your outfit sometime?" Charlie asked after introducing himself.

Kurt shrugged, "Sure, just dry clean before you hand it back!" Charlie nodded and drove off toward Ali's house.

The drive wasn't too bad; they left an hour before people left for lunch.

The ride over the group joked and made fun of each other. Santana turned toward Rachel at one point and whispered how this reminded her so much of New Directions.

Rachel couldn't help but nod her head in agreement. While everyone was laughing Rachel noticed how often Blake would glance at his phone. It was like he was waiting for the most important call of his life.

They finally reached Ali's mansion of a house. It was grand and beautiful to say the least. Kurt said how if he wasn't in love with Blaine and gay he would marry Ali just so he could inherit this house.

The group walked in and Ali's parents were already barbequing away. They told the kids to jump on in and everyone followed Ali into the pool.

"This is amazing!" Santana reveled on a float. Kurt was dipping his feet in while he and Shanna took a test out of one of those fashion magazines.

Charlie was splashing Ali away and hitting on Santana. The fact that she was a hot, spicy Latina who kept telling him she was a lesbian with a hot blonde girlfriend turned him on like never before.

Rachel waded in the pool observing Blake who did a couple of laps around, "You were on the swim team, weren't you?"

He was floating on his back, "Yeah…so was my girlfriend."

"Now we're getting somewhere." Rachel said with a grin.

Blake waded beside her, "Why do you find me so interesting Berry?" He looked at her with amusement.

She shrugged her shoulders, "To me you're a mystery, I'm interested like Nancy Drew."

"Well I guess I'll just have to tell you when the time is right." She bobbed her head at him.

"Fair enough.

He floated up and gave her a splash, she returned it and soon the gang was splashing each other excitedly.

Santana and Kurt were both tipped into the pool and the two were out for revenge on Charlie. They stayed in the pool until it was night and they were all prune-like from being in the water for such a long period of time.

"Look my fingers still looks like raisins!" Charlie exclaimed and put his hand in front of Santana's face. Grossed out she pushed him away in disgust.

They sat around the living room just staring into the fireplace.

"This was a really good day." Shanna said with a yawn and rested her head on Ali's armrest. Ali combed her hair softly. Santana smiled, thinking of Brittany.

"I'm going to make a phone call…" Santana stood up and made her way to the guest room she was sharing with Rachel and Kurt.

"Need me to…?" She pushed Charlie down onto the couch, "I'll just wait for you here, baby! No rush! Call ME if you need me." Everyone chuckled at his antics.

"Dude you have no chance." Blake said in a sing songy voice. Charlie shrugged; he still could have fun chasing her.

"I think it's time to go to sleep." Ali started to say her goodnights and asked Kurt if she could assist in bringing a sleepy Shanna to bed.

Santana yelled from the bathroom if someone could help her figure out the knobs, except Charlie. But he had run over as soon as he heard her request.

That left Rachel and Blake alone in the living room.

"You going to interrogate me some more Berry?" Blake asked from across the room and Rachel shook her head.

"I'm just going to wait til it's my lucky night." She said as she hugged her cup of tea in her hands.

Before either of them could say anything else Charlie's voice rang through the house, "BLAKE! Santana's killing me!"

Blake rubbed his hands together and prepared himself for some tough work, "Better rescue Charlie." Rachel only chuckled and nodded her head understandingly.

Before Blake departed he turned toward Rachel, "Verona."

"What?" Rachel furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Verona, it's a clue." He grinned at her and made his way to help his roommate from the clutches of Santana Lopez.


	2. Chapter 2: Verona

Thank you so much for the support. I am really ecstatic that you guys are responding so positively. Now enjoy some more!

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Down South in Fort Benning, Georgia, Finn was conditioning along with his fellow soldiers.

"Private Hudson." Finn saluted the sergeant who praised him for a job well done throughout his weeks of basic training.

Finn stayed focus on the job at hand, made some friends and impressed his leaders. He was going to be a fine soldier, his father would have been immensely proud.

"Private Hudson!" He heard his name announced in a stern voice and turned toward the speaker, preparing to salute his leader. That is until he saw the prankster.

"Fuck you Verona!" He narrowed his eyes at his fellow soldier who chuckled at him.

"Geez soldier, lighten up, will you?" She nudged him when the coast was clear and it was time for dinner.

Finn rolled his eyes, "Whatever Private Happy Pants, let me be today."

"Ouch, what's up your butt?" She asked as they waited for their meal. They stuck it on their tray and maneuvered to one of the tables occupied by some of their friends.

"What's wrong with him?" Michael Wilder looked up and studied his friend.

"I don't know." The girl responded, "He's just being a butt today."

"Nellie, Mike just shut the hell up and leave me alone!" He shouted, but not to the point where everyone was staring.

They shared scared expressions when Aylin Bay sat beside Michael.

"Are you okay F…?" Aylin didn't finish her sentence because Nellie kicked her under the table. She rubbed her leg but knew a pissed off Finn was much worse to deal with.

"Anyway…" Michael chose to stay away from the topic of Finn. "Nellie I heard you playing last night. It sounded good."

Nellie beamed with excitement, "Yeah it's for my man back at home."

"Here we go again!" Michael shook his head and earned a smack from Nellie across the table.

"Hey, let me have my romance!" She daydreamed of her special someone, Finn watched as the greatest smile appeared on her little face.

"Mrs. Nellie Jameson. It sounds hot, like a porn star or something!" Aylin stated with a big bright smile of her own in her loud voice. Aylin was a Turkish, Muslim beauty that joined the Army after her and her longtime boyfriend broke up. She needed to live life and she thought the Army would do that for her.

"Totally!" Michael stated in agreement. Michael or "Mike" Wilder was a nerd in high school but no one ever picked on him because he was a cool nerd. He was an athlete, not just a mathlete but was on various sports teams and even sang in his glee club. Finn considered him his best guy friend even though he was nothing like Puck.

Nellie Verona was definitely his best girl bud. She was just awesome, she put him in his place and there was never that sexual tension that most girl and guy relationships had. She never looked at any of the guys, probably because she was in love with some guy back home.

"You guys are so dumb, besides I'm too awkward to be a porn star." Nellie chuckled when Aylin painted a scenario where Nellie posed nude with her helmet on her crotch.

"It'd be super hot!" Aylin said as she pretended to be porn star Nellie posing with an imaginary helmet. The girl was sexual and flirty but all around she had a really caring heart. She reminded him of Brittany and Santana put together, minus the whole lesbian thing.

He really missed his friends back in Ohio, he tried to keep in touch but it was really hard especially because of their schedules and his military limitations.

He wanted to tell his mom everything but knew some stuff was covert and very hush hush.

"I think I should call my man and see how he's doing." Nellie stood up with her tray, she was excited to finally talk to him.

"Why don't you call him more often?" Finn asked, surprising Nellie by uttering his first words throughout dinner.

"Because I need to focus on Boot Camp, I even disabled my Facebook account and I only write him personal letters because I can't get distracted right now. Trust me, I love him with my whole heart and if he wants me to come home safely he knows I need to stay on my A-game." She proceeded to leave dinner and made her way to a phone.

She dialed the cell phone number she memorized by heart, "Hello!" She greeted the voice that made her heart instantly swell.

"Babe!" He sounded overjoyed to hear her voice. It broke her heart.

"I freaking miss you so much! How is my honey?" She asked with tears welling up in her eyes. This was really why she couldn't call him every day. The simple fact being that she could not stand to hear him so far away. This was the hardest decision she ever had to make, but she knew in her heart of hearts it was what she had to do.

The day she left he was filled with anxiety. It was hard at first; she had to talk to him every night until he could fall asleep. Turns out he needed her as much as she needed him.

Things got easier when she settled in, she sounded at pure ease and that's all he really wanted.

"Babe I am missing you tons. I admit I love NYADA. New York just needs you for it to be perfect." He tried to hide his sigh but she heard it.

She wanted to conceal the fact that she heard it; she didn't want to spend their conversation on the depressing fact that they were so far away from one another and would soon be almost worlds away. No, Nellie wanted to cherish the now, "Soon my love. I just, I want to hear about you and NYADA. By the way do I have to kick Charlie's ass because he won't pick up after himself?"

She reveled in his laugh, it sounded so charming to her ears, "No need to kick his ass anymore, he is being Charlie though. Luckily, there's Ali and Shanna to back me up." Nellie loved listening to him talk about his new friends. It was almost as if she wasn't that far away. "By the way, I made some other friends. Be proud of me, babe!"

Nellie giggled, "Oh I'm so proud, tell me about them!" She leant back in her chair and listened intently to his descriptions. She loved hearing the happiness behind it all; it made her feel less guilty about being away.

"Alright, there's Santana. Hot, smoking Latina! Seriously babe, she's a hottie."

The two had such a close relationship that things like that never bothered her. It was routine to them, "Damn I'm going to need you to send me pictures. I'm sure Charlie tried to pull out the big guns on her!"

"Yeah and it's hilarious because she's a lesbian with a serious girlfriend. Can you say no chance?" He shook his head and Nellie replied with a no chance.

"Kurt is really cool too; the guy dresses better than anyone we've ever known. Oh and there's this girl, Rachel. She's a real sweetheart. Sad story though, she was engaged but the guy left her for the Army. Why does this sound so similar?"

Nellie sighed, "Hey, it's not exactly the same situation." She smiled, looking at a picture of him from her pocket. "Just be there for her, it sounds like you guys can be good friends."

"Definitely, enough about me! How are your friends: Wilder, Bay and Hudson?" He always thought it was appropriate to call them by their last names. She had mentioned their first names before but he always liked their last names better.

"Wilder and Bay are good. Guess what they think of Nellie Jameson?" He shrugged but realized she couldn't see him and laughed.

"Sounds like heaven to me!" He joked and she joined him in laughing at his silliness.

"Apparently, it sounds like a porn star name. Aylin, sorry Bay was telling me that I should like pose nude and only cover my crotch with my helmet." She continued to chuckle but the line was silent.

"Honey, you still there?"

A second later his voice reemerged, "Tell Aylin Bay, she is my fucking hero and when I see her I am taking her out to dinner."

They spent the rest of their conversation talking about some relatives, talking about new songs they had liked and at one point he made Nellie play her new, unfinished song for him.

"It's beautiful babe." He complimented in a gentle tone. He always got quiet when he knew their conversation had to end soon.

"You're beautiful my love." She said as she stared again at the picture in her hand and gave it a kiss. A few tears escaped her eyes. This was always the hardest part of the conversation, the goodbye.

"Don't cry babe, I'll be seeing you soon. You're always in my thoughts." He sniffled his own tears back.

"I love you." She choked on some tears and wiped her eyes.

"I love you more, beautiful. Sweet dreams." She had mentioned it was night time wherever she was toward the end of their conversation.

Unknowingly to him, they were in the same time zone. But she would keep the watch that her grandmother gave her on New York time no matter where she would be, "Goodnight, sweet dreams honey."

As soon as the phone call dropped Nellie curled into a ball and cried softly into her knees. She made her way to her bunk and spent her alone time crying.

She didn't hear when Finn walked in. He sat on the foot of her bed. He had seen her cry before but usually left her alone.

Something was telling him to stay and keep her company. He placed a warm hand on her shoulder, "Sorry I was an ass today. I didn't mean to make you cry." She turned around and laughed at his words. They both knew that his attitude earlier wasn't the cause of her waterfall of tears.

"Damn you Finn, I thought we were best friends. You hurt me here." She sat up and touched her heart dramatically. She knew he was a jolly giant with a huge heart underneath it all.

"We are…don't tell Mike." He put a comforting arm around her petite shoulder. Her frame almost reminded him of a girl he used to know. Alright, more than know, more like loved.

She rested her head on his shoulder, "I am missing the crap out of him." Nellie confessed as she wiped away the last of her tears.

Finn nodded his head, "Tell me about it, I am missing THAT girl. I got a letter today from my brother who wrote me and it reminded me just how much I missed her."

Nellie knew that Finn had a girl, one he really loved but in order for her to live her dreams he had to join the Army as well as to clear his father's name. She knew that he was supposed to go to school in the same state as her but he was rejected. She knew he had a gay step-brother who lived with his ex-girlfriend. She knew a lot of things to an extent. And she always chose to let Finn come to her and respect his boundaries. That's what friends were for anyway.

"Things happen for a reason. Strange and crazy reasons." Nellie fell into a deep contemplation still resting her head on his shoulder as he rubbed her arm comfortingly.

She hated people seeing her cry but something told her she could truly confide in Finn. He was really protective over her; his eye always seemed to find her whenever they were in military mode.

The two of them were doing an excellent job and were exceeding in all of their classes.

"It won't be long until we're in Iraq." Finn's voice sounded far away, he didn't seem excited or pained when he said it.

Nellie didn't know what to think, "It's crazy, you train and work your butt off for weeks for deployment and now I don't know what to think."

Finn shrugged his shoulders, "We just gotta utilize what we learned for real combat."

Nellie sighed, "Can we just not talk about combat right now? I just want to pretend I'm a regular teenager, hanging out with my friend."

She picked up her guitar and strummed it, "Humor me?" She asked with a soft smile.

He recognized the melody and started to sing the 80s classic "Missing You" by John Waite. Aylin and Michael had heard him and came in to partake. They followed with backup vocals while Finn started to really perform.

He got up and started to belt out and add gestures. Nellie couldn't help but adore the smile across his face. Whenever they had their mini jam sessions he seemed to be genuinely happy.

Aylin started to dance and Michael and Nellie joined her with Nellie still playing guitar.

When the song concluded they high fived and continued to sing and perform until curfew. Even though they had important military responsibilities, tonight they were just normal kids hanging out together, singing their hearts out. It was simply, perfect.


	3. Chapter 3: Big Hint

What a great response I am receiving! I really enjoyed writing this chapter, everything is really falling into place and I hope you all like it! Thanks so much! Enjoy!

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Saturday afternoon Rachel was sitting back in her apartment. They had left Ali's house early that morning to beat traffic. Santana had to work at the coffee shop and even scored Shanna an interview.

Kurt was hanging out with a group of his designer friends and invited Rachel but she turned the invitation down. She wanted to have some quiet alone time and just rest.

Kurt definitely noticed a change in New York Rachel. She was a lot more carefree and independent. He liked it.

So when she said no he smiled and left in a flash. She picked up her yoga mat, played some soothing music and relaxed.

She had been in meditation for about an hour when she heard a knock at the door. When she opened it she was surprised to see Blake standing there.

"Wanna hang out?" He asked without a greeting.

Rachel side smirked at him and slipped on her tennis shoes and walked out in her pink and grey yoga outfit.

The two walked side by side talking about their friends. Ali and Charlie decided to go to the movies so that left Blake at home alone.

"I'm surprised Jameson." Rachel said as she looked at her friend, who peered at her inquisitively. "You're not staring at your phone today." The two chuckled and walked until they reached Central Park.

"Yeah, I got what I was waiting for." She was about to ask another question when he turned to her, "Wanna jog?"

She finally noticed he was in a pair of basketball shorts and a tank top, "Oh sure." The two jogged around the park in line with each other. They started to get competitive and tried to outrun each other.

"Hey Jameson, I got a wager."

"What do you have in mind?" He asked as the two slowed down.

"From here to the tree, if I win you give me another hint about your mystery girl!" She looked at him mischievously.

He nodded, "Okay, if I win you owe me a hotdog." She chuckled and nodded. But to his surprise she yelled go and ran off at her fastest speed.

"Shit!" He cursed and followed behind but never quite stood a chance. Berry was one fast runner.

"THE CHAMPION!" Rachel pushed her fists in the air and did a triumphant dance.

He scoffed, "Only cause you got a head start. You're competitive Berry; you're starting to remind me of my little lady." Rachel stopped and told him to continue, "Alright let's go than."

He started to walk away and she followed behind "Where are we going?"

"Keep up Berry, live a little." He winked at her and she was still wondering where the heck this was going but she was becoming more and more fascinated.

He made his way to the street and jumped into a taxi. He made her cover her ears and he told the taxi driver the address.

"This is a fat hint Berry, so enjoy." She stared out the window, still not sure where they were headed. After sometime she looked up and noticed where he had brought her.

They were at the 9/11 Memorial. Rachel couldn't believe her eyes. Blake paid the taxi driver and led Rachel around.

She had read and seen the effects on the news but nothing to this extent.

"Oh my God!" She turned to Blake, "She didn't die did she?"

Blake gently smiled, "No no…but after all of this, major things changed that affected her. Remember one event, leads to another, which leads to another."

"Verona!" Rachel found the list of names of victims that had died that day and found a soldier with the last name Verona. "Sgt. Jamie Verona." She googled her name on her smartphone and thousands of results popped up for a Jamie Verona from Florida. "Sgt. Jamie Verona was one of the passengers on the United Airlines Flight 175 from Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, to the Los Angeles Airport. The passenger flight was hijacked by five al-Qaeda terrorists on September 11, 2001."

Rachel stopped reading and began to cry, "Oh my God!" She looked toward Blake who was quietly standing behind her.

"Jamie Verona was her sister…" the two found a bench outside and they sat in silence until Blake wanted to continue, "She had a break from duty and was visiting buddies in Boston that week and was going to fly out from there to meet her family for a wedding in LA."

Rachel was still crying but Blake sat there with a determined look in his eyes, "She would have completed her time in the service but her time was cut short."

He cupped his hands together until they were pale white. She decided she didn't want to know anymore, this wasn't a game. This was his life. She could tell by the intensity of Jamie's story that the girl Blake pined for had a monumental story as well.

Blake was her friend; she didn't want to risk it to know their story. She just wanted to be there for him and make him feel at ease.

"Thank you." Rachel whispered as she turned toward him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He shrugged his shoulders and a smile appeared on his lips.

"There's more to it Berry."

She shook her head, "And I am in no rush to find out. You tell me if you want to but this isn't a game."

Blake sat back on the bench; he crossed his arms in second nature, "To tell you the truth, playing this guessing game and rehashing everything is making me feel better. I don't know why but I just feel like I'm falling for her more." He laughed and threw his head back, "I am such a sap!" He dug his face into his hands.

"Well love makes you do some crazy things, trust me!" Rachel continued on in her upbeat fashion. "Did I ever tell you about the time I put the moves on my glee club director?"

That caught his attention and he turned it toward Rachel. As she continued Blake called for a taxi and the two of them jumped in. This time Rachel made sure to pay before Blake. He thanked her and told her that hotdogs were on him.

They got some hotdogs and made their way back to the dorms to hang out. Rachel was worn out by the time Santana dropped Shanna off at her dorm.

"Ready to go Rachel?" Santana asked leaning on the doorframe of Blake and Charlie's room.

"Mi Santana-nita." Santana glared at Charlie but only laughed wildly when he offered her to sit on his bed.

"You're the strangest white boy I have ever met!" She exclaimed when Charlie sat beside her offering her a cold beer.

Blake had returned from the shower in a towel around his waist, "Hey Santana." Blake greeted and fished his clothes out of the closet.

She looked over at Rachel who sat on his bed, sipping on her beer and reading a magazine unalarmed by the sight.

"This is ludicrous! How aren't you two jumping each other's bones?" Santana yelled in disbelief. She chugged half of her beer and pointed at the two of them.

Rachel glanced over at Blake and nodded at him and he did the same.

"Because he's in love and I'm not trying to date anyone right now." Rachel looked back down at her magazine and Blake finally found his hoodie. He left the room to change and Santana got up and pushed Rachel's arm, settling beside her.

"Do you seriously not find him attractive?" She sat beside her friend and asked in all seriousness. Rachel couldn't help but laugh at her friend's severity.

Rachel shrugged her shoulders, "Sure he's hot, Sam was hot, Mike was hot and Puck was definitely hot but they're all just my friends."

Santana finally gave up and finished her beer. Blake returned and sat beside Charlie on his bed. He finally acknowledged the weird stare Santana was giving him.

"Yes?" Blake asked politely.

She shook her head and then nodded, "I cracked the code." She looked at Rachel and reiterated, "He has Trouty Mouth's abs, Puck's sex appeal, Artie's adorableness, Mike Chang's mystery and Finn's personality. Damn you're perfect." Santana concluded.

Charlie glared at his roommate because his dream girl just called him perfect.

"Thanks? Even though I don't know who you're referring to!" Blake responded, he headed to the fridge to grab a beer.

Rachel put down the magazine and got up, "Alright I think it's time we head home. Thanks for having me guys." Rachel said as she gathered up Santana's things and pushed her up.

"Wait!" Charlie yelled and picked up his phone and keys, "We'll walk you." Santana and Rachel glanced at each other but knew Charlie would not back down.

"Fine! Come on Charlie." Santana pushed him first and Rachel and Blake followed behind.

The walk over was pretty fun. Charlie put his arm around Santana when a girl walked by and she actually acknowledged his presence.

Santana thought it was kind of funny and told him that they should try that again. Sure enough another girl looked at her with jealousy.

"Santana Lopez, you're my new best friend!" Charlie leaned toward her cheek and pecked her. She actually didn't mind, it was nice to be appreciated and have bitches give her dirty looks. She felt like the head cheerio again.

When they got home Kurt was sitting in their small living room video chatting with Blaine.

"Don't forget to help my dad pick out his new suit. I don't want any of those politicians looking down on him!" Blake nodded with assurance.

"Hey who are the hot guys, Rachel? Nice work!" Blake said as soon as he saw Blake and Charlie in the background. "That guy kind of looks like Finn!"

Charlie shook his head again, "Yes, I've been told by all three. Hi, you must have heard a lot about me, I'm Charlie!"

Blake glanced at Kurt and Kurt motioned for him to play along, "Right, Charlie! Hi bud! How's it going?"

Charlie sat on the armchair of the couch and waved. Then Blaine saw Blake up close when Blake went to say hello.

"Hi I'm Blake." Then Blaine turned to Kurt and nodded in understanding.

"Oh you're right he is Bieber adorable, more so than Sam."

Rachel and Santana chuckled thinking about the reference and waved to Blaine.

"Hi honey, how are things?" Rachel asked in her tender voice.

He shrugged his shoulders, "Same old, we all miss you guys! New Directions isn't the same without you!"

They talked to him for a couple more minutes but Kurt said he had guests to entertain and would talk to him tomorrow morning. He reminded him to moisturize and wished him goodnight.

Everyone laughed and gathered in the living room. Kurt and Rachel shared the single recliner and Blake, Santana and Charlie sat on the couch.

"How was your day?" Rachel asked Kurt who left to the kitchen and returned with chocolate chip cookies and soy milk.

"Pretty good, I love Parsons. I am always waiting for Tim Gunn to come in and tell me to clean my station. Nightmare!" He end with a sing songy voice.

"By the way, my friend Abraham is throwing a karaoke party at the karaoke bar he works at. I told him I'd bring some of my talented friends. Will you guys be my entourage next Friday?" The boys and Rachel immediately said yes and Santana said she would double check her schedule.

Kurt said he had texted Shanna and Ali, Ali said she was excited to come but Shanna would have to check her work schedule as well.

The rest of the night Rachel, Kurt and Santana shared more stories from home. Enough so, that Kurt had even taken out his yearbook just so Charlie and Blake could have faces to put to these stories.

Charlie rated all the girls from a one to ten scale. Every girl practically got a ten, except his Santana-nita, who received a one hundred.

Rachel laughed along when Kurt recalled a memory about of the time he pretended to crush on Rachel in order to avoid a relationship with Mercedes Jones. Everyone laughed wildly at the account and in the midst of it a thought appeared in Rachel's mind.

Yes, she didn't want to bother Blake about his mystery girl anymore but she really wanted to see what she looked like and thanks to Kurt she discovered the perfect way.


	4. Chapter 4: Battle Buddy Conversations

A few notes before I start:

1. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed. I am so happy that so many people love this story enough to read and comment.

2. On that first note, I am sorry. I finally got a computer that is reliable so I can update more but I am also a student in college, which makes it harder to update since school is right around the corner. Be patient, and reviewing more than once a chapter will unfortunately not push me to write faster.

3. (**SPOILER**) I'm VERY excited about Blake on Glee. I can't wait to see what he'll do because I feel like he'll make such a great addition to the Glee cast!

4. THANK YOU THANK YOU! Have fun reading!

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Nellie laid in her bed, she stared up into the darkness as Aylin slept comfortably in the bed next to hers. She reached for the picture under her pillow and released a sigh of contentment.

Her man would be starting school in a few hours. She wondered if he would be Mr. Popular just like in high school. Probably, he was as gorgeous as a man could be or at least in her perception.

She didn't know how long she had been fantasizing about being with her loved one when a flash of light beamed onto her face breaking her concentration.

"Verona?"

She covered her eyes with the back of her hand and squinted at the figure holding the flashlight.

"Finn? What the fuck?" She whispered in annoyance, trying to be as soft as possible so she would not stir her friend awake.

He chuckled lightly, "Payback and get up, I need to take a walk and you know we're all about the battle buddy system. You got my back, I got yours. I need to take a walk, you HAVE to take a walk with me at 2 a.m. It's the rules soldier!" He scanned the flashlight from her toes to her face once more.

"Okay, just fuck! Stop with the light in my eyes!" He laughed to himself once more and let her slip on her boots. Not long after the two were taking a walk around the serene training site.

Nellie walked step by step with Finn. They had this uncanny rhythm to stay in the same step together. Must have been too many routine training practices.

"Alright Finn, you're going to have to tell me a story to keep me entertained because all I want is to stare at the inside of my eyelids." He looked down at his petite companion who yawned beside him.

He settled on top of the grassy hill they usually ran up and down during their morning workouts.

He laid back on the grass and stared at the stars above them and she laid beside him, following suit.

"Where to begin?" He asked himself and then retold of his New Direction days. He talked about how he dressed up like Lady Gaga, which made Nellie burst into laughter. Then he recalled the time he and his best friend Puck punctured their rival glee club's tires, she always knew her best friend was a badass.

But the story that captivated her the most was the day he let Rachel go and dropped her off at the train station.

"It's amazing." Nellie whispered, "I mean, the fact that you just let her go to live her dream, it's..."

"Stupid? Come on!" Finn sat up expecting the worse.

"Selfless." Nellie had heard the cliffs notes version but the whole dynamics of the situation truly spoke to her.

Finn shrugged his shoulders, "Yeah I guess."

Nellie leaned into him and nudged his arm, "Hudson, stop being so damn modest. You remind me of my man."

Finn eyed her suspiciously, "Okay, tell me more about him."

The only thing Finn really knew about this guy was that Nellie was crazy about him and the two grew up in the same town.

Nellie stared at her hands a little longer, she liked to keep most things private but if Finn could open up to her, who was she to not return the sentiment.

"Blake...his name is Blake." She reached for her pocket and removed a picture of the two of them in their swim team uniforms.

Finn smiled at the couple in the palm of his hand, they reminded him of himself and a certain girl he tried to repress constantly. But obviously, to no avail.

She chuckled, "He and I met freshman year of high school during swimming tryouts. He was the funny guy that made everyone laugh, he was on practically every team and all the girls loved him."

Finn smirked, "Well I could see he chose the best." Nellie couldn't help the blush rising in her cheeks.

"I don't even know how it happened. One minute he was talking to the captain, Lily and then we just caught eyes. It was so weird. First of all I was in my little bathing suit, which was uncomfortable as hell!" Finn laughed shaking his head in disbelief.

"Don't laugh at me, meanie!" She shoved him and he fell onto his back looking at her face from the ground.

"Take it from a dude Nellie, you're hot. I'm sure Blake just noticed."

Nellie rolled her eyes and continued with the story to avoid further talks about her beauty, especially with her best friend.

"Anyway, that whole practice I was hiding away from him because I was so embarrassed that the hottest guy in our class caught me staring at him!"

Finn bobbed his head, "How humiliating!" He said in a sarcastic feminine reply.

She got lost in the rest of her story, "He makes fun of me to this day, because apparently the rest of practice he had been staring at me trying to get my attention so he could ask me out. He said from the moment he saw me he knew I was special."

Finn smiled catching her eye, "I agree with him."

Nellie smirked and picked at the grass and gazed contently at the little yellow flower between her and Finn, "He wasn't your typical popular boy, to my surprise. He was a guy with a beautiful heart. One time a couple of guys were picking on this blind boy, Mario and he shoved the kid into the lockers and threatened to beat the shit out of him if he messed with his friend Mario again."

Tears fell from her eyes as she reminisced the memories of her beloved. Finn reached over and hugged his friend softly into his chest. He rested his chin on top of her head and let her gather herself together.

"Sounds like a great guy." Nellie was buried in his chest but she couldn't help but smile.

"In some ways you remind me of him. You guys have a lot in common." The two dispersed and sat beside each other.

Finn couldn't help but notice the similarities to her and his ex. He loved Nellie but only as a best friend, sisterly figure. It was tough yet comforting to hang out with Nellie, especially since she possessed so many qualities that he loved about his ex-girlfriend.

Finn took a second to miss the girl in New York but when he felt Nellie staring up at him with curiosity he changed the topic. No, he couldn't think about Rachel, he had to let her be.

"So, what's Blake doing now?"

"Probably sleeping, but in a couple of hours he has his first day of school!"

Finn nodded his head, "Right, normal kids start school tomorrow." The two laughed then changed the subject to how abnormal their lives were.

An hour passed and the two got up to go back.

"You should call him today." Finn randomly spurted on their walk back to their dorms.

Nellie nodded her head, "Probably, but I'm sure it's too early."

The two were outside of the room accessible to the telephones. "He's probably glued to his phone!" Finn countered and pushed her toward the room.

Nellie shook her head, "There's no way I can make a phone call now! It's a nice idea Finn but no Sergeant on duty is going to give me permission to use the phones at 3 a.m. to call Blake. We're still in basic training for one more week! We don't get special privileges..."

"Private Verona!" Nellie spun around and looked up to meet the attention of Sergeant Woodlee.

She inwardly cursed herself but especially Finn, "Sergeant!" The two privates saluted their leader.

"Nellie..." Sergeant Woodlee sounded softer, "I overhead everything. You have one week in basic training left. I guarantee you that you're going to be at the top of your peers next to Private Hudson. You didn't utilize your phone privileges last night. You are more than welcome to use the phones now." Sergeant Woodlee always seemed like the nicest one out of the commanders.

"Thanks." Nellie said sincerely and walked by him to call Blake.

Sergeant Woodlee turned to Finn and nodded at him, "You're more than welcome to call someone too. Just don't tell the other commanders I misused my leadership." He winked at him and walked away as if nothing ever happened.

Finn stood by the door and contemplated calling his mom but it was the first day of university tomorrow. He fought his spontaneous decision but would go with it anyway.

Finn could hear Nellie giggling down the room.

"I can't believe you woke up, good morning honey!" She gushed happily.

Blake who laid in bed looked toward Charlie and made his way outside to continue to talk to his girl, "Babe, I will wake up whenever I see my caller ID and it's an unrestricted number. It is a perfect morning now, are you doing okay beautiful?"

Nellie let a few tears drop at the sound of his voice, he had this magical affect on her.

"Great! I just really wanted to talk to you before classes began and wish you good luck! And I also wanted to tell you that I finish up basic training in one week and I'll be on my way to advanced individual training."

Blake gleamed with pure pride, "I'm so proud of you! Soon my babe will be fulfilling everything she set out. I love you." He really made her melt, Blake wasn't the guy to hide anything he set it on the table and even state's away he made her feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

"I love you too, are you ready for classes?" Blake settled onto a picnic bench and leaned back staring at the beginning of sunrise.

He nodded his head, "Yup my snack packs are in my bag, my new undies are ironed and the new tank tops and khakis you bought me are ready to be worn." He grinned when he heard her uncontrollable laugh.

_"Back to school, back to school, to prove to my Nellie I'm not a fool." _Blake sung the Adam Sandler jingle causing her to laugh more.

"You're no fool honey, I'm proud of you more!"

He shook his head while she played with the receiver, "Impossible babe."

Nellie looked up and saw Finn waiting for her, "Hey honey..." She was just about to get off so her battle buddy wouldn't have to wait any longer but Finn shook his head and picked up the phone beside him.

"Yes my lady?" He asked sweetly.

She grinned at Finn and let out a content sigh, "I can't wait to be with you again." The two continued on about their lives while Finn silently asked God for help.

Before he knew it he dialed the phone number he hadn't used in months.

In New York, a block away from Blake, Rachel was sleeping soundly in her bed. She heard her phone buzz and was confused when she looked at it, it was an unfamiliar number.

She jumped out of bed not to awake Santana who would kill her if she heard her on the phone this early.

When she reached the small living room area she answered the phone, "Hello, Rachel Berry speaking how may I help you?"

"Rachel." She nearly dropped the phone, she was surprised to hear the voice she hadn't heard since that unexpected goodbye.

"Finn?" She choked on her own voice. She let some tears well up but fought against them. She would not let Finn do this to her.

In Georgia, Finn sat on a chair and absorbed her delicate voice, "Hey Rach. I know this is out of the blue..."

She balled up onto the couch and reached for a soft pillow hugging it against her. "I just had a few minutes to use the phone and I wanted to talk to you. I um..."

She could barely breathe, why was he doing this? She should have learned by now that Finn was spontaneous and was all about the art of surprise.

"I know I should leave you alone, especially after what I did. I just wanted to say that I hope you live your dreams over there and I'm really proud of you. You may not think I don't care but Kurt keeps me up to date. You're on your way and I couldn't be more proud."

Rachel let the tears cascade down her cheeks. She wanted to say something, anything. But it was overwhelming to hear the voice of the boy she missed so much.

Finn knew he caught Rachel off guard. He wasn't expecting a chatty conversation, if anything he wanted to keep talking just so he could keep her on the line and have Rachel Berry all to himself for as long as he could.

"I miss you a lot. You were one of my best friend's in Ohio and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss us."

He let out a sigh, "You're amazing Rach. I don't know what else to say except repeat my words over and over again until it's ingrained in you."

She thought of a few more words he could say, three specifically. But she knew that he didn't want to scare her off. Not after months without talking and he finally got her attention.

"Thank you Finn, I miss you a lot too." It was only a couple of words but Finn would take it. He knew she wasn't going to confess her undying love or that she would wait for him. He didn't want her to wait for him, she deserved better.

"Have a good day today, I know you'll kick some serious ass!" She giggled and that made this conversation all worth while.

She smirked into the telephone, "I know you'll kick ass too and Finn..." He waited for her to say something he could hold onto.

"Congratulations on your last week of basic training. Good luck with your AIT next week!" She hung up the phone and the two sat in their respective places simply soaking up the fact that they had a real conversation with the love of their lives.

Finn couldn't help but gleam on the inside, Rachel knew he was almost done with basic training. So she must have been keeping tabs on him through Kurt, which meant that she, deep down cared about him. Not to mention, best of all, she told him she missed him.

He would carry those words with him and finish his last week of basic training kicking some major ass.


	5. Chapter 5: A Face to the Last Name

Thank you for continuing to read my story, always appreciated.

& the question about other pairings, I'm not sure if I'll be pairing anyone up. If I feel and see a natural flow between any of the other characters I might bring them together by the end. We'll see!

ENJOY!

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Rachel sat in her Drama 101 class as her teacher explained the syllabus. She was halfway asleep in her chair when Blake nudged her arm. He had been listening contently to their teacher until Rachel's soft snore caught his ear.

"What's with you?" He asked softly as his animated teacher sauntered around the stage of the small theater room.

Rachel leaned toward him to reply, "My ex-boyfriend called me earlier."

"Finn?" A smile brightened on his lips, "So what did he say?"

Rachel looked at her excited companion and shook her head, "Yes silly but don't get too excited he just called to wish me a good first day."

Blake shrugged his shoulders, "It's something!"

Their teacher continued to make over exaggerate gestures to emphasize her words. Rachel gazed back at her friend, her secret plan reappeared in the front of her thoughts, "Hey uh Blake, what does your schedule look like?"

He picked up his knapsack and slipped out his binder then handed her the green schedule sheet. She overlooked it and a grin emerged on her face, "We basically have the same schedule. Stop stalking me Jameson!" She shoved his sheet into his hands and he chuckled softly.

"You wish! So does that mean lunch after this?" Yes, Rachel Berry's plan to glance a peek at Blake's Ms. Verona was a go!

Rachel nodded her head, "Absolutely." The two of them left class once their teacher dismissed them from their lessons. Their next assignment was to pick partners for next class to perform a scene with that would be assigned that day. Luckily for them, that assignment was a no brainer.

Blake sat in the dining commons with Rachel sitting across from him. He was eating a burger when Rachel caught her eye on something she hadn't seen before. "What's with the necklace?"

He looked down and noticed that the chain that was usually hidden under his shirt had fallen out and onto his chest, "My girl and I got matching tags. Cute huh?" He snickered while Rachel nodded her head in mid aww.

"Adorable. What does it say?" He let her look at it, Rachel thought maybe there was another clue to getting to know his mysterious lady.

**_I only know when it's a matter of time_**

**_B&N_**

Rachel recited the words on the chain but Blake concluded with a faraway look, "When you love someone."

Since Rachel memorized all the classics she knew they weren't just words, "Foreigner, Waiting for a Girl Like You."

Blake sat back in his chair taking a sip from his water cup, "It's our song, of course it sounds better when she sings it."

"Verona's a good singer?" Blake bobbed his head, "The absolute best, voice like an angel."

Rachel looked at him inquisitively, "Was she involved in any clubs?"

A smile emerged on his lips, "Glee club, church choir and theater." Now Rachel had what she needed to put her plan into full action. Rachel sat in her chair acting nonchalant then asked Blake if she could have some of his water.

He attempted to hand her his cup when Rachel accidentally knocked it over and onto his lap, "Oh I'm so sorry Blake!" She gasped and put her hands over her mouth in shock. He shook his head trying to keep her calm.

"It's fine, Berry. My dorm is just a walk over we can go before vocal class and I can change." She tried to hide her sneaky smile and opted for an apologetic expression. In two minutes they were standing in front of his dorm room. When they walked inside Charlie was no where to be found.

"I think he has his afternoon dance class right now, so you feel free to hang out here. I'll be back!" Blake grabbed a new set of shorts and made his way down toward the boy's bathroom. Rachel jumped up and went toward his desk. She fiddled around with the books and notebooks in his collection and instantly found what she was looking for, "Panthers!" She noticed the drawing of the panther on his yearbook and victoriously stared at the book.

She was about to open it when a sudden pang of guilt flooded her stomach. This was wrong, she was being her old devious self when she wanted something. Blake was a genuinely nice friend, maybe her new best friend in New York. She couldn't go snooping through his stuff, it would just be awful. She even told him she wouldn't pry.

Her conscious got the best of her and she was slipping the book back into it's original slot when Blake returned, "Nancy Berry or should I say Rachel Drew?" He crossed his arms over his broad chest with a stern look on his face.

"I swear I didn't look inside, I found my conscious and was putting it back." She handed him his high school yearbook and sat guiltily on Charlie's bed.

He sat on his bed, across from her and only laughed in return, "Berry, it's really no big deal. I'm just surprised you and Santana didn't come up with this idea as soon as I told you her last name. I'm more surprised that Charlie, who by the way has tried to befriend me on Facebook 20 times just to sneak a peek at my girl, hasn't stolen my yearbook either!"

He shook his head and handed her the yearbook, "Job well done Berry, pages 20, 23, 113, 115, 117, 200, 211, 220 and 240."

She stood up and took her place beside him. She flipped to the first page he named and there in the middle of the rows of people was the mysterious pretty girl, "Nellie Verona." Rachel smiled finally getting to place a name or at least a last name to a face.

"She doesn't exactly look like that anymore, I mean she's still drop dead gorgeous but her hair's a lot shorter." Blake didn't add anything further, he just let Rachel look at all the pages.

She flipped to 23 and she found the whole senior class sitting in their school amphitheater. They were all dressed up in their colors of red and white and in the front corner Rachel spotted Blake carrying the pretty, petite brunette in his arms. The two looked so happy, he was holding her up bridal style and the two were decked out in red and white and war paint on their faces.

"That's so cute!" Rachel said with a giddy voice.

113 was a picture of Nellie as the lead in her school musical and she and Blake had a picture in the corner of opening night and an insert about how her real life Prince Charming came to support her with a huge bouquet.

On page 115 Rachel saw them in their track suits for the swim team, "We were captains." Rachel giggled, recalling the fact that she and Finn were captains of their glee club.

Page 117 showed that the couple had more in common than Rachel could have dreamed of, "Wait a minute, you and Nellie were captains of your Glee Club?"

Blake nodded his head, "Yeah, the farthest we made it was Regionals but we always had a great time singing together." Rachel could tell the two were madly in love from each and every one of their pictures together.

Page 200 showed Blake as captain of the varsity basketball team. In it showed pictures of the school's support at some of their games. In a picture Nellie was holding a sign that said she loved number 20, who was of course Blake.

Page 211 showed Prom King and Queen, to Rachel's surprise it was of Nellie as queen but not Blake as king.

"I campaigned for Nellie and my friend Mario to win. Mario was the coolest kid I knew in high school." Nellie was dancing with a boy who had appeared on the glee club page earlier. She couldn't help her heart from fluttering at how much more she liked her new friend and how he was so much like Finn in high school.

220 was probably Rachel's favorite, Nellie and Blake were voted most likely to get married. Nellie was getting a piggyback ride from Blake and the two were smiling into the camera.

"She was also voted most talented but she hated that picture of her so she put a smiley face sticker over her face on that page. Actually she would have vandalized my whole yearbook with those smiley face stickers but I told her she couldn't."

Finally on the last page mentioned was the congratulatory pages for the seniors from their families. It was no surprise to Rachel that Blake and Nellie's pages were right beside each other. It was basically a huge collage of Nellie and Blake moments, along with words from their proud families.

"Is that Nellie and her sister?" It was a picture of a beautiful Korean girl in an Army uniform and a much smaller girl standing beside her, holding her waist.

"Jamie, yeah, right before she was shipped off." Rachel couldn't help but caress the picture of the girl in the uniform and think of Finn. Her eyes began to water and before she could help herself she started to cry.

Blake pulled Rachel into him when he heard her cries, "Hey, Rach, what's wrong?" He coddled her in his arms and she shook her head.

"I'm so dumb! Here I am crying over Finn who is alive and poor Jamie is actually gone. Why am I so inconsiderate?" Blake wanted to tell her he always felt that away about Nellie but he wasn't quite prepared to tell her. He might go off crying and break down but right now Rachel needed him to be strong.

"It's a normal feeling! It doesn't make you a bad person. It's okay, Nellie continues to grieve over Jamie but that's because that's her sister. Finn is the person you love so of course you're going to be crying for him! You're only human, Berry." He lifted her chin and smiled at her softly. He pressed his lips to her forehead comforting her as best as he could.

Rachel sighed and nodded her head, she wiped away her tears, "I guess I do kinda love him still."

Blake scoffed, "Kinda? You're sprung on your man Berry!" Blake's girl voice was just plain awful.

Rachel shoved him to the side and yelled for him to grab his things, it was time for their next class.

Friday could not come sooner, the kids were ready to celebrate completing their first week of school.

Kurt was putting on a pair of yellow skinny trousers while Rachel opted for a sweet, red baby doll dress. Santana helped her curl her brown locks and then slipped on her tight pink dress.

"Ladies, once over!" Kurt made it routine for all three of them to check themselves out in the mirror before going out. The girls didn't mind, after all they were girls who liked to look good.

"Rachel just a little more blush, Santana just..." Kurt reached for her hair and she slapped his hand. She cursed him in Spanish to never touch her hair and Rachel found her getaway when she heard the door.

"Hello?" The southern accent rang through the house and when Rachel opened the door she was greeted by Shanna and Blake. Shanna looked cute in her yellow floral dress while Blake looked gorgeous as usual in a pair of dressy black trousers and a red button up.

The two girls squealed when they set eyes on each other, of course Blake just chuckled and shook his head, "Didn't you girls see each other for breakfast?" The two girls glared at him mid-hug. Boys just didn't understand that hours could be so long for girls.

Rachel went in to hug him while Shanna greeted the others. "Looks like I have a date this evening!" Shanna squealed when she laid eyes on Kurt. The two wore the same bright colors and paired off in that moment.

"I found the completion to my ensemble, a beautiful date!" Shanna awed and gave him another squeeze.

Santana scoffed, "And of course Berry and Mr. GQ would match!"

Rachel looked up at her taller friend and looked back at herself. "That was unintentional, but looks like I have an escort myself this evening." Blake offered her his arm and the two exchanged sweet smiles.

Santana only became more nauseated, "Maybe Ali can be my matching partner in crime, please tell me she wore pink?" She turned to Shanna who shook her head with a soft frown.

"Actually..." There was another knock at the door and Charlie came barging in.

"Come on you guys, we gotta head out before traffic becomes unbearable!" Charlie turned toward Santana and a flirty grin appeared instantly.

"Hola Santana-nita, looks like you will be my beautiful date this evening." Charlie, who was wearing an obnoxious bright pink button up and matching shoes, grabbed Santana by the hand and gave her a peck on the back of her hand.

"Gross, let's go!" Santana commanded, throwing her pink purse at Charlie she stomped out of the room while the rest of the kids followed.

"Tonight's going to be very interesting." Blake whispered in Rachel's ear and she giggled with a bob of her head.

"Oh yeah, Jameson."

When they got to the bar Chris spotted his group of friends, including his closest friends from school, Abraham and Tyler. Abraham greeted everyone and Ali cheered in delight when she noticed he was decked out in blue as well.

"Looks like you're mine!" She linked onto him at the table and Abraham only chuckled and talked about how much he liked Kurt's group of NYADA friends.

Everyone was given a drink and they passed around the song book because EVERYONE and Abraham emphasized everyone had to sing tonight on account of it was his birthday and it was his only birthday wish.

Of course Abraham and Ali went on first and performed Katy Perry's TGIF, Last Friday Night. Abraham had already been drinking so he slurred a good number of his lyrics but Ali picked up the pace most of the time with her upbeat nature.

Everyone at the table was enjoying themselves but underneath it all they were all competitive to show the group what they got.

"No!" Santana yelled when Charlie suggested they change up Selena Gomez' Love You Like a Love Song. She punched him in the arm and then made her way on stage. He followed suit, when they got up there Santana yelled that they'd be performing Valerie.

They did a fun version where Charlie and her even shared a dance. In the midst of their song Blake turned to Rachel, "We need to kill it!"

Rachel nodded her head furiously and a smirk appeared on her face, "Something totally unexpected!"

After Charlie and Santana, Shanna and Kurt performed a theatrical performance of Lady Gaga's Bad Romance.

Blake and Rachel got on stage and everyone sat in anticipation when a fast paced melody began to play.

"Titanium, shit why didn't we think of that!?" A drunk Abraham yelled to his partner who chuckled but danced along with the group.

Rachel and Blake jumped up and down and acted plain silly on stage. In order to get more screams and applause than anyone else, Blake threw off his shirt and threw it at Kurt.

"Oh my goodness, he's a genius!" Kurt turned to Santana with his mouth wide open. Even Santana was fanning herself. Everyone was up and cheering by the end of their performance. When they returned to their seats they high-fived and Abraham announced that they were definitely tonight's winners and drinks were on him.

When Blake asked for his shirt back Kurt shook his head and said he would be confiscating it for the rest of the night.

Everyone was in high spirits; drinking, singing, laughing and talking.

At one point Santana turned to Rachel and watched as Blake had his arm around her and was whispering into her ear. The girl tilted her head back and laughed at something he said. If Santana didn't know any better she could have noticed the same happiness she once saw when she was with Finn.

"Hey, Rachel could you accompany me to the bathroom?" Charlie laughed with a beer in his hand.

"Girls and their pairs!" He patted Tyler's shoulder and the two shook their heads and the funniest chuckle left Tyler's mouth. The girls slipped out of the booth and went toward the girl's restroom.

Santana grabbed Rachel by the wrist, "Hey, tell me the truth. Do you love him?"

Rachel's face said it all, she was blown away, "I beg your pardon?"

Santana rolled her eyes, annoyed by the situation, "Berry, do you love Blake?"

Rachel started to laugh uncontrollably, "No! No I do not LOVE Blake. He's in love with this girl Nellie and I still..." She stopped mid-sentence. Nope, she couldn't admit it.

"Say it!" Santana yelled and crossed her arms, waiting for Rachel to finally fess up.

"I...I can't!" Rachel shook her head.

Santana let out a soft breath. Maybe the alcohol was getting to her, she was getting quite meaner than her usual self, "Sorry Berry. I didn't mean to. It's just that you and Blake seem to be really hitting it off. But if you love Finn...don't screw it up. I say this as your friend, I think you and Finn still have a future together and I would hate for you to blow that opportunity."

Rachel smiled, she had told Santana and Kurt about Finn calling her. They were both sure that it was only a matter of time until they reunited, all they needed was time and a push.

The two girls ended on a rare hug and left holding hands back to the table.

"Everything alright?" Blake looked quite concerned and Rachel just nodded her head with a genuine smile on her lips.

"All is well." The two girls exchanged knowing looks. Rachel didn't want Kurt or Santana to get jealous but Blake was becoming her best friend, he just offered her this quality of friendship no one else could, except well Finn.

When she looked at him he was always truly concerned to know how she was feeling, when she was around him he made her feel exceptionally safe and he just had this heart that seemed unbreakable.

Sure he was beautiful in appearance but his insides were simply impeccable.

"Hey Jameson!" Rachel whispered in his ear while everyone was joking around the table.

"Yeah?" He looked down at her and she smirked up at him.

"You're my best friend here." He placed his hand in her hair and gave her a soft noogie.

"You too Berry, you too!"


End file.
